Wrestling Travels to Nation's Capital for Three Weekend Duals

The Crimson is taking to the road for three weekend duals (Gil Talbot).

Storyline The Harvard wrestling team is heading to the Mid-Atlantic region this weekend where it will face a trio of opponents in American, No. 21 Maryland and Stanford. The Crimson will first take to the mat Friday, Jan. 11 at the Eagles at 7 p.m. in Washington, D.C. The squad will return to action Saturday, Jan. 12 as it grapples with the Terrapins at 12 p.m. and the Cardinal at 3 p.m. in College Park, Md.

Rank and File A pair of Crimson are currently featured in the InterMat individual rankings, including two-time All-American Walter Peppelman. The Harrisburg, Pa., native has competed only twice this season but debuted in the poll last week as the ninth-ranked grappler at 157 lbs. before moving up to No. 8 this week. Steven Keith, who earned All-America status last season at 133 lbs., is 14-5 on the year wrestling at 141 lbs. and comes in this week ranked No. 10.

James Fox, who made his season debut last weekend and had been ranked No. 20 at 197 lbs. in previous weeks, has fallen from the poll.

Last Time Out Heavyweight David Ng and 125-pounder Jeffrey Ott earned two key victories late in the dual to help the Harvard wrestling team to a come-from-behind 24-17 win over Rider Saturday afternoon at the Malkin Athletic Center.

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.@HarvardWrestlin knocked off Rider last weekend in the team's dual-meet opener, marking the 2nd straight year the team has done so

Asst. coach Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov will be returning to his alma mater Friday, American University, where he was a 2-time All-American

.@HarvardWrestlin will receive a special tour of the Senate and House floors at the U.S. Capitol Friday prior to its dual at American

Climbing the Charts No. 8 Walter Peppelman and No. 10 Steven Keith are working their way up Harvard's all-time ranks. Peppelman is currently seventh in program history with 95 wins, while his 28 career falls are third most all-time. Keith, meanwhile, is ninth in program annals with 91 career victories as each is looking to join the Crimson's elite 100-win club.

Tournament Tested Harvard competed in four tournaments to begin the 2012-13 campaign, including the 50th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. No. 10 Steven Keith placed in each of the first three tournaments to open the season, taking fifth at the BU Open, third at the Keystone Classic and fifth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Cameron Croy was fifth at the BU Open and second at the Keystone Classic, while Jeffrey Ott made his collegiate debut with a second-place finish at the BU Open before taking sixth at the Keystone Classic.

Captaining the Ship Seniors Walter Peppelman and Steven Keith were voted by their teammates as captains for the 2012-13 season. Peppelman, serving as captain for a third straight season, has placed eighth at the NCAA's as a 157-pounder each of the last two seasons. His 94 career wins rank seventh in program history while his 27 falls rank third.

Keith earned All-America status for the first time last season with an eighth-place performance at 133 lbs. He has moved up to 141 lbs. this season and enters the weekend ranked ninth in program history with 90 career victories.

Up Next Harvard returns home next weekend for a pair of EIWA showdowns. The Crimson will host No. 6 Cornell Saturday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. and will then welcome Rutgers to the Malkin Athletic Center Sunday, Jan. 20 at 1 p.m.